Falls Church, Va., 11/19/15 – Azzad Asset Management’s REIT (real estate investment trust) strategy was awarded the prestigious “Top Guns” distinction from Informa Investment Solutions’ PSN manager ranking database for the 3rd quarter, 1-year, and 3-year periods ended September 30, 2015.
Achieving the Top Gun distinction means the Azzad REIT strategy is among the top 10 performers within one or more peer groups reporting to Informa, the longest running investment manager database in North America. The strategy ranked #1 out of 52 products and 41 firms in the REIT universe.
The REIT strategy also finished in the top 10 for the U.S. equity category for the 3rd quarter and 1-year period ended September 30, 2015. PSN’s U.S. equity universe comprises 3,124 products from 947 firms.
“We are pleased to see that our REIT strategy has delivered competitive risk-adjusted returns, not just in its asset class but also when compared to the U.S. equity market as a whole,” said Azzad CEO Bashar Qasem. “I congratulate our investment team for their rigorous adherence to our low-leverage sustainability criteria. Recognition like this reminds our clients that they can achieve results without compromising their values.”
A highly concentrated portfolio, Azzad’s REIT portfolio generally holds fewer than 25 stocks and is managed by an internal investment team at Azzad. After screening the entire universe according to Azzad’s ethical screens, the investment team employs quantitative criteria to assess a company’s future earnings growth potential. The portfolio is constructed with a bias to large cap REITs and was launched in 2004.
Azzad manages eight investment portfolios and two mutual funds. All potential investments are screened in accordance with the firm’s socially responsible investing (SRI) guidelines, which exclude companies whose business practices are deemed harmful to society.
PSN and Informa Investment Solutions have no affiliation with Azzad Asset Management, but rather evaluate investment managers’ performance on an objective basis. Products must have an R-Squared of .80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for the latest five year period ending September 30, 2015. Moreover, products must have returns greater than the style benchmark for the three latest 3-year rolling periods ending September 30, 2015. Products are then selected that have a standard deviation for the five year period equal or less than the median standard deviation for the peer group. At this point, the top 10 information ratios for the latest 5-year period ending September 30, 2015 then become the 6 Star TOP GUNS. This is a highly anticipated quarterly ranking and is widely used by institutional asset managers and investors. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investments carry risks, including possible loss of principal.
ABOUT AZZAD
Azzad Asset Management, investment advisor to the Azzad Funds, is committed to providing investment services designed to help people enjoy optimum performance without compromising their values. Azzad believes that companies operating in ethical lines of business offer relatively less business risk and are in a better position to thrive in the long-term. The firm’s proprietary screening process allows the manager to prudently manage client assets in a manner consistent with their values.
Azzad is a member of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. Based outside Washington, D.C., the firm is a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Contact: Azzad Investment Communications Director Joshua Brockwell, 703-207-7005, ext. 109, joshua@azzad.net; Azzad Marketing Associate Amina Rubin, 703-207-7005, ext. 120, amina@azzad.net
